Animal trap



Jan. 8

4 la C. GAMBEE ANIMAL TRAP4 WIT NESSES Jan. 8, 1924. 1,479,853 r c. GAMBEE ANIMAL TRAP Filed June' 28. 1922 2 Sheets-sheet 2 'lm/Enron LQGambee,

ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 8, 1924.,

PATENT] oFFlcE. c

ISAAC CHARLES GAMBEE, OE SEATL, WASHINGTON.

nivnvrnr.v TRAP.

Application fil/ed June 28, 1922. Serial No. 571,348.

To all whom t may concern Be it known vthat I, VISAAC CHARLES GAMBEE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Animal Traps, of which the following is a specification. v

The present invention relates to an improvement in animal traps which is con vertible so as to be adapted either for the trapping of moles or for rats, weasels or other animals.

The object of the invention is to provide a trap of this character which is highly effective in use in that it insures the capture and destruction of the animal and which' at' the same time may be set without exposing any part of the body to injury by the jaws of the tra Aljnother object is tov provide a device of this character which is of simple and durable construction, reliable in operation and easy and comparatively inexpensive to. manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention reside in certain novel features of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinaftermore fully described and particularly pointed outl in the appended claims, reference being hadV to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which :v

Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing the trap set;

Figure 2 is a view in longitudinalvertical section;

Figure 3 is a view in horizontal section ou line 3-3 of Figure 2; Y

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the aprons and itsV removablerpivot pin; Figuren is a detail perspective view of the trigger mechanism, showingV the same detached 5 'and Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail view, partly in section and partly in side elevation andv illustrating the construction vof the spring and the mounting thereof. V-

. Referring to the drawings wherein .for the sake of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention it will l be seen that the trap comprises in general a pair of channel members indicated generally at 10 .and 11, respectively, and eachV including base sections,cdesignated at 10aL lhaving flanged edges 12a.

and 11, respectively, andV side flanges, des-` ignated at 10b and 11b, respectively. rThe channel members Vare'pivotally mounted `on a frame comprising a pair of side plates 12 These side plates are held in proper spaced relation by a spac` mg'sleeve or cylinder 13 and pivot pin or bolt 14, the spacing sleeve abutting the plate at its ends and the pivot bolt extending through the plates and projecting beyond the same. The projecting ends of the pivot pin 14 are received in the apertures of pivot ears 15 formed on attaching plates 16 riveted, bolted or otherwise secured, as at 17 to the flanges of the channel members.

The channel members 10 and 11 are preferably constructed ofresilient metal and are bent or otherwise formed to provide upper and lower, angularly disposedl sections, the sections of the channel member 10 being desi ignated at 18 and 19 and the sections-of the channel member llibeing indicated at 20 and 21. The side flanges of vthe sections 19 and 21 of the channel members are provided with extensions designatedV at22 and 23, respectively, and the confronting edges of these exl tensions are toothed, as 'at`22a and 23a so as to constitute the jaws of the trap. The sections 19 and -21 may vthus be said to constitute the jaw members and the sections 18l and 2O the handle members of the trap..

Means is'provided for urgingthe jaws into engagement with each other so as to capture and ydestroy the animal and preferably this means comprisesa spring designated generally at 25 and constructed of a single piece of resilient wire, the spring having coils 26 mounted on the-sleeve 13, a bail 27 connected to the coils and abuttinglthe base member 11y of the channelvmember V11 and arms 28 `and 20 constituting the handle members of the trap alford'a ready means for compressing this spring and further increasing its tension when the trap is setaswill vbe hereinafter more fully described. These sections of the channel members also house ,and protectthe spring.

Stop lugs 29l are pressed from or. carried by flanges of thev channel members, as shown in Figures 1, 2Y and Gand are engageable with the lower flanged edges 12a of the side plates to limit the opening or spreading movement of the jaws in setting the trap, Y

Tripping mechanism is provided for releasably maintaining the trap' setand includes a toggle, designated generally at 3() and arranged within and coacting 'with'the sections 19 and 21 ofthe channel members. The Vtoggle includes a toggle arm 31 and an arm The arms 31 and 32 arel each made up offlat plates, designated at and 3d, respectively, and angle pieces, designated at 35 and 36, respectively. The arms 31 and 32 are pivotally rconnected'to the channel members and 11, respectively,by means of trunnions 33a and provided upon the plates 33 and 34 respectively'and jouinaled in bearings 37 and 38 r'espect-iveilythe bearings beingx provided upon the channel members 10 and 11. The angle .pieces 35 and 36 are' oppositely arranged and are pivotally connected by means of a pivot 39. fin oset lug 36l is provided on the angle. piece 36 and is cooperabfle with va shoulder 35a prol vided on the angle piece 35 to limit the downward swinging movement of the aI'mS of the toggle. Limiting the downwardlyV swinging movement of the toggle is permitted by virtue of the fact that the portion of the plate 33 which underlies the pivot 39 is cutaway, as indicated at 40. Baithooks l1 are provided upon the plate 34 of the arm-32.

When the tripping mechanism is set, as shown in Figure 2, the arms 3l and 32* of the toggle which makes up the tripping mechanism are so disposed that the axis of the Vpivot which connects them to each other are disposed in a'ho'rizontal plane below the axes of the' pivots which connect these arms tothe channel members. As the spring yurges the j'aws of the trap toward each other the tendency will be toY swing thearms 31 and 32 downwardly but thisv downward swinging vii'io'veinent is liinitedby the engage* Ament Vof the shoulder 36@ with the shoulder aand so the toggleserves to maintain the jaws spread andthe trap set. If, however, an lanimal should touchthe toggle so as to 'displace the pivot point upwardly for a slightdistance the trap would be sprung for ais soonas vthe axis of the -pivot 39reaches a point ininiediatelyy above the horizontal line between the pivots' 37 and 38 the spring will tend tourge-tlie arm of the toggle'upwardly. This is what will occur' when an animal attempts to disengage the bait from the hooks 41. When the trap is 'to be used as a mole trap it is complete as thus fardes'cribed andy when due to this use its jaws constituted by the extensions 22 and 23 'of the side flanges Aare inserted in tlie'loose earth about'the ruiiway of the inole with the toothed edges spanning and just beyond. the kwalls of the run-way, the toothed edges 22a being on one channel members. l u pivot is so located ,the trap is setsince the side of the run-way and the toothed edges 23 lbeing on the opposite side thereof. The

earth around the run-way is well packed 'provided for positively urging lthe arms of the toggle upwardly so as tov spring thetrap. It is especially desirable to positively actuate the tripping mechanism when the trap is used for trapping rats, weaselsA or other animals above the ground. This trigger vmechanism includes a tread plate 45 fixed to a shaft 46 pivotally supported upon the eX- tensions 23, the shaft 16 having stop collars 47 formed thereon andA engageable with the extensions 23 to prevent accidental displacement of the shaft. rPhe extensions 23 being of resilient metal may be spread to permit of assembly of the shaft but spring back to snugly abut the collars 47'. A bait holder 48 isprovided upon the tread plate. tread plate is connected by a link 49 with a rock arm 50 mounted upon a shaft 51 also having stop collars 52 and journaled'in an extension 23. The rock arm being directlv engageable with the arms of the toggle 1o positively urge them upwardly when an animal steps upon or displaces the tread plate When the trap is used above the ground aprons or closure plates 55are preferably provided for spanning and closing the space betweenv the extensions of the'side flanges of the channel members. The aprons 55 being releasably and pivotally mountedv upon the channelI members by lmeans of pivot ears 56A integrally formed therewith and engaged by a pivot pin 57 supported. in pivot ears 58 formed upon the channelinem-bers.

, In setting the trap-:the sections and n 2O are grasped and thrown` toward Veach other. These sections constituting convenient handlemeans whereby the trap maybe set since when these sections are drawn fto'wa'rd yeach vother the spring 2.5 is further depressed or teiisioned. Moreover as the sec tions 18 andv20 are drawn toward each other the sections 19 and 21 are spreadso that the arms 31 and32 of the toggle swing or fall downwardly by gravity .therebyV carrying the pivotv 39 connectingthe Iarms below the horizontal planel which intersects the pivotal connection of the toggle arms with "the Obviously when` the shoulders 35a and 36a are engaged and -held The Y 4 in engagement with each other by the action of the spring. However, when the pivot 27 is displaced upwardly either by the action of the animal directly against the toggle or by the animal depressing the tread plate 45, the shoulders 35a and 36i are swung away from each other and the arms 3l and 32 of the toggle are mo-ved upwardly permitting the jaws of the trap to swing forcibly toward and into engagement with each other all under the action of the spring 25. A

The trigger mechanism may be readil associated or disassociated with the trapt since the shafts 46 and 51 are readily assembled with the extensions 23 or taken therefrom. The same is true of the aprons which may be readily taken from or assembled with the channel members by simply removing the pivot pin 57 thus the trap may be readily used and easily converted into a mole trap or to a rat or other animal trap, and in either use it is highly effective and brings about the capture and destruction o1"- the animal.

I claim:

l. In a trap, a pair or" channel members pivotally connected together and including a base section and flanges, said channel members comprising upper and lower angularly disposed sections, the side flanges of the lower sections having extensions provided with toothed edges and constituting the jaws of the trap, a spring coacting with the upper sections of the channel members for urging the jaws toward and in engagement with each other, trigger mechanism including a toggle coacting with the lower sections of the channel members, a trip plate, a trip arm engageable with the toggle for releasing the same, and a link connecting the trip plate and the trip arm, and removable closure plates releasably secured to the lower sections and extending between the jaws.

2. In a trap, a frame including Side plates,

a spacing sleeve extending between the side plates, a pivot bolt extending through the spacing sleeve and through the side plates and projecting at its ends beyond said side plates, a pair of channel members each including a base section and side ianges,vat taching plates secured to theside anges of the channel members and having pivot ears mountedA upon said pivot bolt, said channel members having jaws and a spring including coils embracing the spacing sleeve, a bail engaging one of the channel members and arms engaging the other'channel member, and trigger mechanism coacting with the lower sections for maintaining the trap. set.

3. In a convertible mole and animal trap,

`a pair of channel members pivotally connected to each other and including jaw members, spring means for urging said jaw members into operative engagement, and trigger mechanism including a toggle comprising a pair of arms pivotally connected to each other and directly and pivotally connected to the jaw members of the trap, the arms of the toggle having cooperating means adjacent the pivotal connection of said arms to each other for limiting the downward movement of said arms at said pivotal connection, said cooperating means being adapted to function to limit the downward movement of the arms when the pivotal'connection of the arms to each other is disposed slightly below the plane of the pivotal connection of said arms to the jaw members, and removable trip mechanism comprising a trip plate pivotally mounted on one of the jaw members below the arms of the toggle and extending toward the' other jaw member, and means connected with the trip plate and engagement with the arms of the toggle for exerting an upward thrust thereon when said trip plate is depressed. i

ISAAC CHARLES GAMBEE.

fus 

